(Headline USA) Texas Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has enriched a company he owns and directs with cash from his reelection campaign, according to records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Since 2018, Gonzalez has funneled $33,000 into Tenant Services LLC, a property management company of which he is the owner, for office rent, according to federal campaign finance disclosures. The set-up has allowed the Democrat to use his job as a lawmaker to line his pockets with extra cash outside of his $174,000 annual congressional salary.
Ethics experts used to blast former President Donald Trump for similarly using political funds to rent office space at one of his properties, calling it a “scam” and “con.”
“You shouldn’t be running for office or serving in office to enrich yourself in any form,” said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato.
The Democrat Gonzalez is running against Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, this November in a race that has become heated. Just last week, Flores accused Gonzalez of running “racist” campaign ads against her, referring to her as “Miss Frijoles” and “Miss Enchiladas.”
Flores became the first Hispanic Republican woman to represent Texas in Congress after winning a special election last month, flipping her congressional district from blue to red for the first time in decades.
Gonzalez denied paying for the racist ads, saying he “advertises on many platforms” and has “no control” over their editorial content.
Just yesterday a Democrat Representative claimed an election was stolen. That’s right, Vicente Gonzalez along with Adam Schiff claimed that our win in #TX34 was stolen. Vicente Gonzalez is an election denier and we will earn our win again in November! pic.twitter.com/Tkk8CJ8XYr
— Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) September 10, 2022
Gonzalez has a long history of ethical issues, according to the Free Beacon. In August, it was reported that he and his wife had been improperly claiming a homestead exemption on two separate properties for the past eight years.
A couple of months prior, another report found that Gonzalez violated a federal conflict-of-interest law by waiting nearly a year to disclose a stock trade. He is required by law to report trades no later than 45 days after making them.
